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CAMH Launches On-Line
Support For People Dealing with the Stress of SARS
Toronto, June 13, 2003: An online web-assisted support group for people
dealing with the stress of SARS, www.sarssupportcentre.net,
was launched today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
"SARS has been stressful both for people who have been personally
affected by it and for members of the public who have questions and concerns
about the illness," said Dr. Peter Selby, Head of CAMH's Nicotine
Dependence Clinic and Assistant Professor, Departments of Family and Community
Medicine, Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry, University of Toronto.
Selby came up with the idea for the online support when two of his medical
colleagues from other health care centres developed SARS.
"At a time when there is restricted access to the health care system,
this medium allows for the delivery of service to a segment of the population
with access to the Internet, including health care workers, at a very
reasonable cost to the system. The technology allows for the delivery
of sophisticated information and self-help tools as well as links to the
latest information on SARS," said Dr. Peter Farvolden, a research
scientist in CAMH's Clinical Research Department. Farvolden, along with
Dr. David Goldbloom, CAMH Physician-in-Chief, and David Marsh, Clinical
Director, Addiction Medicine, are involved with the development of the
site.
Selby envisions the web site as being used by people who are in quarantine;
patients in isolation who have SARS but who are well enough to use a computer
and who have little support because contact is limited due to restrictions;
and members of the public who are feeling stressed by the SARS situation
and who want to educate themselves on ways to cope with the stress. It
was estimated in April 2003 that there were over 6 million Internet searches
for SARS information worldwide.
The site will have a section for health care providers and another for
the lay public with a confidential password protected online support group
moderated by a trained health care professional. The support group will
be anonymous and free for anyone to use. Initially, it will be offered
in English only, but translation will be explored
CAMH is sponsoring the site and has contracted with V-CC Inc., a Toronto-based
software company experienced in online collaborative self-help, to host
the site. "One of the most important aspects of our program is that
we show people they are not alone," said Trevor van Mierlo, Managing
Director for V-CC. "And when provided with the right tools and information,
our visitors feel as if they have greater control."
The web site will be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the
medium as a means to respond to other acute stressors, disasters and/or
epidemics, for example bioterrorism, and West-Nile virus.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is a Pan American Health Organization
and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre and a teaching hospital
fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.
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For further information, please contact Anne Ptasznik, CAMH Media Relations
Coordinator, at 416-595-6015.
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1-800-463-6273
